ABSTRACT
In the 1960s, conflicts over coastal pollution in England and Wales were still conducted largely at a parochial level. The official view that the tasks of conceiving, managing and financing solutions were best delegated to the local authorities had its counterpart in the manner in which beach pollution politics was conducted. The beach pollution debate soon lost whatever national characteristics it may have briefly assumed in the late 1950s. During the following years the CAPL’s cause seemed to be in retreat. Yet, at this very time, several powerful forces were at work which would bring the issue of coastal water quality to the forefront of public attention, and which would ultimately lead to many of the League’s demands being met.
